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This pesto ricotta pizza is equal parts delicious and unique, featuring artichokes, onion, grilled chicken, and balsamic glaze. It hits the spot every time!
Alex and I ate so much good food on our honeymoon back in October, and it has inspired so many new recipes! This decadent pizza with ricotta, pesto, grilled chicken, artichokes, and balsamic glaze was at the top of our list to recreate at home – and boy are we excited to finally share this one with you.
While it doesn’t feature macadamia nut pesto like the pie we had for lunch at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, our version is pretty close to the original thing. A surprising and unique combination of flavors, it hits the spot when you’re craving creamy, sweet ricotta cheese and earthy pesto in one pizza!
What This Recipe Entails
With store bought dough and leftover grilled chicken, you can make this pizza in about 30 minutes or less. You’ll need to do some prep work for the toppings before assembling and baking, but it’s super quick and easy!
- Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
- Cook time: 12 to 15 minutes
Ingredients
You’ll obviously need pesto, ricotta, and grilled chicken to make this pizza. But we also recommend a few additional toppings, including artichokes, red onion, and balsamic glaze.
- Pizza dough – Any standard pizza dough will work for this recipe. We like to make ours from scratch using the same day pizza dough recipe from Ken Forkish’s Flour Water Salt Yeast cookbook.
- Basil pesto – We find that less oily kinds of pesto works best on pizza, like a creamy Genovese pesto or our homemade basil pesto.
- Cheese – You’ll need three kinds of cheese for this pizza: ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and grated parmesan.
- Grilled chicken – Use any kind of grilled chicken, fresh or leftovers. When we make it fresh for this pizza, we like to marinate the chicken in vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, and sea salt for about 20 minutes before grilling.
- Toppings – Sautéed artichoke quarters and sliced red onion go great on this pizza. You’ll want to buy a can of quartered artichoke hearts to cook at home (cooking with fresh artichokes is a pain!).
- Balsamic glaze – The finishing touch on this pizza (and an absolutely necessary ingredient) is a thick, sticky balsamic glaze. These are typically sold in squeeze bottles and can be found right next to the balsamic vinegar at the grocery store. You can also make your own at home by reducing balsamic vinegar with brown sugar.
How To Make Pesto And Ricotta Pizza
In 30 minutes or less, you can have this flavorful pie on the dinner table ready to eat!
- Prep the toppings. Toss the diced chicken in a tablespoon of pesto and set aside. Next, prepare a piping bag with ricotta and set aside. Then, sauté the artichokes in olive oil over medium-low heat until slightly softened and lightly browned.
- Stretch the dough. Oil and flour a 14-inch pizza pan and stretch the dough out onto it, working with lightly floured hands.
- Top the pizza. Spread the pesto over the whole pizza in an even layer, leaving about a half-inch crust. Top with chicken, then pipe the ricotta in a spiral pattern from the outside edge of the pizza to the center. Top with mozzarella, artichokes, and red onion, then a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
- Finish and serve. Let the pizza cool for about 2 minutes before topping with balsamic glaze. Slice and serve hot!
Serving Suggestions
- Weeknight dinner for two – Serve by itself or with a side salad for an easy weeknight dinner, especially if you have leftover grilled chicken to use up.
- Date night – Pair this pizza with your favorite wine, beer, or cocktail recipe for a fun dinner date at home.
- Pizza party – Grab your friends and family and make two or three different kinds of unique pizzas together to enjoy for dinner! Cooking with loved ones is always a fun activity, especially because you get to eat the fruits of your labor.
Storing and Reheating
Store leftover pizza in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can wrap it in foil or store it in an airtight bag or container.
Reheat the pizza in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until warm.
FAQs
Baking temperatures will vary based on the type of dough you use, but you typically want to bake pizza at a higher temperature – anywhere from 425 to 550 degrees F. Store bought doughs will typically give a recommended temperature on the packaging.
Always take pizza baking times with a grain of salt. Start with less time than you think it needs, then keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking. You’ll know it’s done when the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, and the crust is a nice golden brown.
Expert Tips
- Baking temperature and time – These will vary based on the type of pizza dough you’re using. If using store bought, check the package instructions for guidance. If making dough from scratch, reference the dough recipe for baking temperatures and times.
- Piping the ricotta – Piping the ricotta helps ensure even distribution, so you get a little in every bite. It’s worth the extra effort! You can make a piping bag out of a zip-top plastic bag by filling one corner of it with the ricotta, twisting the top of the bag to partially seal it instead of zipping it closed, and snipping off a small section of the corner to pipe the ricotta out of.
- Cooking the artichokes – You must sauté the artichokes before adding them to the pizza! If you don’t, they’ll be too tough and quite pungent in flavor. Cooking them first helps mellow them out and soften the texture.
- Make this pizza vegetarian – Simply omit the grilled chicken for a meatless version.
Try our ricotta pesto pizza for your next pizza night at home, and let us know how it turns out by rating and commenting below! We can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe.
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Pesto Ricotta Pizza with Grilled Chicken and Artichokes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 425 grams pizza dough
Toppings
- ½ cup basil pesto plus 1 tablespoon for tossing with chicken
- 2.5 ounces grilled chicken diced
- 3 ounces quartered artichoke hearts drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 ounces ricotta cheese
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 ounce red onion sliced
- 1 to 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- Balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 525 degrees F and lightly oil and flour a pizza pan.
- Prepare the toppings:In a small bowl, combine diced chicken and about 1 tablespoon of pesto, then set aside.In a small frying pan over medium-low heat, sauté the artichokes in olive oil until slightly softened and lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes.Fill a piping bag with the ricotta cheese and set aside. See notes for detailed instructions.
- With lightly floured hands, stretch the pizza dough into a roughly 14-inch circle to fit the pan.
- Now, top the pizza:Spread the pesto over the whole pizza in an even layer, leaving about a half-inch crust.Top with diced chicken, then pipe the ricotta in a spiral pattern from the outside edge of the pizza to the center.Top with mozzarella, artichokes, and red onion, then a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly and the crust is lightly browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Let the pizza cool for about 2 minutes before topping with a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze. Slice and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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This pizza recipe is perfect for a date night at home! So flavorful and unique.